US Online Poker Pools Expand with Pennsylvania's Participation

The regulated online poker market in the United States is going through a major transformation. Shared liquidity sits at the center of this change. The goal is to move away from a structure in which each state remains closed within itself.

Pennsylvania officially joined the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, MSIGA, in April 2025. As the fifth most populous state, Pennsylvania has 13 million residents and more than 150,000 active poker players. This participation is reported to have contributed more than 50 percent to the MSIGA player pool. This structure, which states such as Nevada already support, creates a major multiplier effect in terms of volume.

Shared liquidity means that players in one licensed state can sit at the same tables as players from another MSIGA state. Operators use geolocation technology to ensure players stay within legal boundaries. Players remain under the oversight of their own state's regulatory body. For example, players logging in from New Jersey remain under the supervision and consumer protection of the NJ DGE, even when they play in the same pool as players from Nevada or Michigan.

Revenue and taxation are determined by the physical location of the player at the time of play. This allows states to collect taxes on activity from their own residents. Previously, smaller states faced low guarantees and overflowing prize pools due to shallow player pools, and some tournaments were even canceled. It is stated that combined pools eliminate these problems and allow operators to run larger tournaments.